Ultimate Level 1: New Dreams, page 1
Ultimate Level 1
New Dreams
Shawn Wilson
Mango Media LLC
Copyright © Shawn Wilson 2024 produced by Mango Media LLC
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact the publisher at admin@mangomediapublishing.com.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Book cover by H. Typesetting by Miblart.
Dedication
I will always be thankful for my wife and six kids, who gave me a reason and time to write.
To Mango Media, for believing in me from the start.
To IsyDexicsUntie for all her editing help!
Blurb
The dream of every adventurer became real as Max, Tanila, Fowl and Batrire entered the tower. Before they can finish the first floor they learn that not only is the tower going to challenge them in a variety of new ways but that the bosses that spawn are much harder than what the dungeons had.
New skills, powerful equipment and growing stats await if they can conquer the challenges.
Cordellia, an elven archer, has joined their party. But the secret of Max's Consume must be kept from her, even while in close contact.
Max needs to show off his skills in front of others, all while keeping his secret. Skills like Epic Crafting require new identities and clever ruses to be able to use.
Every dream has the chance to become a nightmare, especially when some still want you dead. Can Max grow strong enough to finally be safe and protect his friends and family?
Contents
Recap
1. The Path Ahead
2. A Ranger Joins the Party
3. Rare Spawn Fun
4. First Chest in the Tower
5. It Only Gets Harder
6. Going All Out
7. Turning in Trophies
8. Old Tricks
9. What Grows in a Garden
10. Trimming the Flowers
11. Figuring Out Secrets
12. Becoming Someone New
13. Learning to Craft
14. Always the Nice Guy
15. Date Night
16. Showing Off
17. Werewolves
18. Demonic Summoning
19. The Tower Within the Tower
20. A New Dwarf Is Born
21. Tanking Like a Boss
22. Joshua
23. The First Boss Floor in the Tower
24. Overcoming Fear
25. Willing to Risk Everything
26. Melting Flesh
27. Rewards for Winning
28. Tower Items Stats
29. Fear the Mage
30. Legendary Crafting
31. Cooked Minotaur
32. Outsmarting the Tower
33. The Biggest Bull
34. Upgrading a Weapon
35. Tanila's Other Secret
36. Fairies, Sprites, and Ents
37. The Power of Your Name
38. Training with Tom
39. Dexic
40. The Problem of Secrets
41. Blue Balls
42. Boss Floor Blues
43. No Way Out
44. The Broken Ice Prince
45. A Reward Worth Killing For
46. A Gift For a Healer
47. Not Every Tower Floor is Easy
48. It Just Keeps Getting Darker
49. Crafting & Preparing
50. Fighting Won't Get You Out
51. Puzzles and More
52. Coming Clean
53. Goblins and Snakes
54. The Tower Warned You
55. Gorgon
56. The Impossible Save
57. Only A Few Secrets Remain
Recap
The Story So Far
Welcome back to book four, Ultimate Level 1: New Dreams!
Here is a quick recap of the story so far.
Book 1: Max wanted to be a baker, but as we know, a mysterious god (or gods) gave him a Black skill. He was assaulted, bound, and tossed into a wagon, unsure what would happen next. Getting out, he took on the alternate identity of Seth Pendal and grew stronger, learning that his Black skill, Consume, can steal stats if they are higher than his base (unmodified) ones. After picking up a few skills, some good loot, and killing a Fanatic Elf in Windsor Wheel (and picking up a sweet skill), Max flees to the next town, Rumstant.
There, he finds out quickly he needs to group up, joining forces with Tanila, an elven mage; Fowl, a dwarven warrior; and Batrire, a dwarven healer. They have some fun, beat a few floors, and eventually, Max must reveal a little about himself and the power he possesses. They share some about their own secrets, and the party gets to work, attacking dungeons, stopping a shade (okay, well, they held it off), and working at getting stronger. Max also learns the power of books and knowledge (always read books, especially Ultimate Level 1!).
Book 1 ends with Max sharing that he believes he met a goddess, one that has given him an unfair advantage of better loot and harder bosses and dungeons to fight.
Book 2: Max comes out swinging, upgrading his Weapon skill to all melee weapons! They find out dungeons are really giving them some extra love, even locking them in so that they can only escape if they win (or die… but they don’t… or did they?)
Random luck? Curse of the Gods? Strings of Fate? Something leads Caleb to find and follow Max, and the old reunion doesn’t go well, causing Max to find out he’s being followed. A little bit of torture and some payback nets him new skills and knowledge about the people seeking his life. Realizing that they may be closer than he thought, Max goes all in, telling the others.
It’s a whirlwind of finishing up a few things, helping Aimee, his local baker friend, level up, and then ditching town as they race off to Peltagow.
As always, Max’s gotta pee, and that leads to a massive gain in stats and skills when he’s ambushed at night, killing a host of thieves and killers who came out during the full moon.
Max finds out his Sonar skill can help him cheat at some gambling, and he takes all the gold he can from the Beaver’s Casino, entering the capital with enough cash to stay at a nice place.
Consume and Max have some problems as the skill wants to be a little more bloodthirsty, and Max fights it off, continuing the dungeon crawl through the capital.
A bad rare spawn causes Batrire to almost die and be left without enough money to pay the bill. Max steps into the Colosseum to try and earn a little gold while not losing his soul.
Some bad stuff happens… people die (not Max), and between killing an elven fanatic and a noble’s son, Max gets out of the fights with almost nothing.
Thankfully, Fowl bet everything on him winning, and they get enough cash to pay for Batrire’s treatment.
Everything is looking up. Max and Tanila go for a walk… love might have been in the air until they are surrounded by elves ready to kill them both.
With nowhere else left to turn, Max gives in, letting Consume take over.
Book 3: The elvish group finds out the hard way they weren’t prepared for what stood before them. Consume shows Max the power it has, and soon, he’s filled with more stats and skills than one might imagine possible. They get a free ride to the guard place, find out his skill can also remove the killer aura, and end up in the city, looking like he didn’t do a thing.
They sign up to join the Golden Axe Faction, pledge to be part of that group, and begin grinding with Haste.
A massive breakout of four dungeons leads to the city being overwhelmed from all sides, and the group goes out, barely surviving a massive ogre break. It leads to some growth, and they get a chance to see the power of tower climbers who come and save the day.
Between learning they can break the dungeon (Forest Fires can be your friend), winning a drinking contest, celebrating a birthday party, and growing closer, the biggest life thing is Max and Tanila finally admitting their feelings.
Upon hitting Level fifty, everything changes. Two options are on the table, and the group attempts to do what hasn’t been done in generations. They enter the demon dungeon, hoping to defeat it and earn the boon that comes with it. Flexing their brains, they outthink a dangerous area, and Max has to let Consume out to save his friends.
After enjoying an all-you-can-eat demon buffet, Max rejoins the group, facing down a demon way stronger than they should have and pulling out a win. Avoiding a tricky demon lord, they get the boon and head off to the dragon dungeon. (We’ll gloss over the Epic abilities/spells Max picked up there).
The dragon dungeon is a cakewalk. Because the dragon wants to meet the ones who pissed off the demons. After a little talk and some quick discussion, Max gets to prove his value to the dragon, all with the hopes of getting some door prizes. Consume shows up, proving to the lord of the dungeon that he’s worth betting on, and picks up a cool dragon tooth, dragon scale, and mark (shhh, that's a secret).
Now, with that done, they pop off to the tower and, unable to resist the chance, go kill a few of the mobs on the first floor of the tower.
Book 4 - Flip the page - Find out.<
Current Stats & Skills:
Max Hoste
18-year-old Human Male
Level 1
Exp 1/1000
Tower Experience: .5%
HP: 1630/1630
MP: 1140/1140
Stamina: 815/815
STR: 161
DEX: 157
CON: 163
INT: 114
WIS: 114
Defense of the Dragon - .5%
Defense of the Demon - .5%
Demon Essence: - 340
Leather Boots - 1 DEX + 5% Speed Bonus while running
Black Quick Pants - 2 STR/DEX +10% Movement Bonus
Ogre’s Black Tunic - 3 STR/CON/DEX + 10% Magic Resist +10% Attack Damage
Black Bracers - 3 STR/CON +15% Damage decrease slashing/piercing
Belt of the Golem - 4 STR/CON +25% Damage decrease slashing/piercing
Scout Spider Helm - 5 STR/CON/DEX. Invisible State, Grants Minor Poison Resist
Cloak of Spider - 5 Dex. Spider Walk - 5 mins / 24 hour cooldown
Green Ring - 1 DEX
Black Rabbit Ring - 2 DEX
Ring of the Golem Prince - 4 CON +25% magic resist
Black Boss Band - 20% Stat Increase
Skills:
Baking - Common
Consume - Epic
Melee Weapon Mastery - Rare
Shield - Rare
Berserker - Uncommon
Elemental Mastery - Uncommon
Stealth - Rare
Dual Wield - Rare
Power Strike - Uncommon
Backstab - Uncommon
Evasion - Uncommon
Archery - Rare
Haste - Uncommon
Festering Touch - Common
Death Magic - Uncommon
Conceal - Epic
Regeneration - Rare
Armored Warrior - Rare
Intimidation - Rare
Dark Magic - Rare
Rampage - Rare
Weakness - Rare
Demonic Magic - Rare
Demonic Summoning - Rare
Demonic Teleportation - Epic
Chapter one
The Path Ahead
The four of them stood there smiling, ignoring the expression on Everett’s face.
“You couldn’t help yourselves, could you?”
As one, they burst out laughing, shaking their heads.
“We only killed about a hundred or so,” Fowl said. It’s not like we felt we were in danger.”
“You hear that Everett? Not in danger,” Tom said, a frown on his face since they announced what they had done. “It’s not like the tower can be that dangerous.”
“It really wasn’t that bad, considering what else we’ve faced,” Max replied. “I mean, those new lizardmen weren’t that special.”
“Did other groups see you fighting?”
Tanila shook her head in response to Everett’s question. “We didn't notice anyone, but then again, the tower floor is massive, and we wanted to see how long it took to reach 10 percent of that first level.”
Everett began to cough, and Tom groaned.
“Ten percent?! You are each ten percent into level one of the tower?!”
Tom’s tone as he spoke made Max wince a little. “We are. Is that a bad thing?”
“How often did those little gems like the one I gave you drop?” Everett asked, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.
“Almost every time?” Batrire replied, glancing at Tanila, who nodded in confirmation.
“Almost every time?” Everett asked again, cocking his head slightly as one eyebrow rose.
“Yes…” Max answered, able to tell from his tone this wasn’t the normal drop rate.
“That’s impossible,” Tom muttered. “Everett, you and I both know that’s not possible… not ever.”
The older man ran his hand through his white hair and nodded.
“Okay, listen up, you four,” the Faction leader said, his tone and demeanor changing in an instant as he stopped leaning against the arm of the couch. “Do not share that information with anyone, and I repeat, anyone. Your newest member will be here tomorrow, and when you meet her, she will learn a few things. You can trust her to keep them a secret. But if you tell others about the speed at which you gain those crystals, any hope of hiding in the shadows will be gone.”
Everett pointed his finger at Tanila and frowned. “Do you know how the gems work and what they do?”
She nodded.
“And what happens every ten levels worth of tower experience?”
“You mean how that specific gem won’t work anymore?” Tanila replied.
“Not just that, but also the other thing you can do once you reach level ten?” Everett asked with a grin.
Her eyes went wide as she looked at Everett and Tom, seeing both of them smiling about knowing something she didn’t.
Clearing his throat and taking a deep breath, Everett finally explained what he was holding back for a moment. “Normally, I would encourage most tower climbers never to attempt what I’m about to suggest, but based on the…” He paused and looked at Tom for a second before returning his gaze to the four of them. “The very generous rate at which these gems are dropping, you can attempt something most shouldn’t.”
“That’s because it's stupid after the first ten levels,” Tom interjected when Everett went silent for a moment.
“Yes, he is right. Remember, there are two different levels I’m talking about here. One is the actual level of the tower floor. The other is Experience gained specifically through the gems. Now, for every ten levels of tower experience, you can return here and decrease your tower level by ten—”
“Why would we do that?” Fowl interrupted.
“I’m trying to explain, if you’ll give me a moment.” Everett scowled at the dwarf. “Each tower level grants you a one percent bonus to all your stats. You still level normally, albeit much slower, but when you reach level ten in the tower, you gain a ten percent bonus of your base stats. By trading all that Experience at the skill shard, you can permanently get two point five percent bonus stat points and regain those lost levels once more.”
Max and Fowl both whistled at the same time.
“So if you did that for the first stage of the tower, it would be twelve points, five percent bonus?” Tanila asked, making sure she understood what Everett was describing.
He nodded and grinned. “Many do attempt this, but most quit after they realize the amount of time it takes to farm the materials once more.”
Tom shook his head and grunted. “Most don’t ever try it because they can’t stand the idea of giving up ten percent of their bonus stats. For some tower climbers, that number gets massive quickly.”
Max nodded, wondering how everything was going to work with the ring he had.
“If you four… soon to be five,” Everett corrected himself, “manage to do that two, three, or even four times, you could gain a major bonus in the same amount of time or even quicker than most.”
“What is the normal drop rate of gems?” Batrire asked.
“One out of three,” Tom replied.
“Holy elf tits!” Fowl cursed, his eyes going wide.
“Can someone get this dwarf a topless elf healer so we can move past that phrase?” Tanila said, glaring at Fowl.
“Ignore them. Realistically, how hard would it be to do that for forty levels?” Max asked.
Frowning, Everett shrugged. “I can’t answer that for the four of you; you’ll have to figure that out for yourselves. The real problem comes down to—”
The room they were in suddenly shook, and a deafening noise came from underneath them. Everett and Tom glanced at each other for a second before both took off to the office door. Max and the others ran behind them, not sure where they were headed but knowing something big must have happened.
“In the crafting area!”
Everett was moving faster than Max could have imagined. While his gray hair might fool some, Max knew their Faction leader had been a tower climber. Tom and Everett were bounding over ledges, landing on the floor below, and sprinting downstairs, each with the grace of someone half their age and stronger than he was.
As Max made his way down the stone stairs where the two men had disappeared, smoke began to flood the top of the hallway. He stayed low, covering his mouth with his shirt as he ran. He was able to hear the commotion before he saw it.
